Be still

 Sri Annamalai Swami

Q: Bhagavan often told the devotees to 'Be still'. Did he mean 'Be mentally still'?

AS: Bhagavan famous instruction 'summa iru' [be still] is often misunderstood. It does not mean that you should be physically still; it means that you should always abide in the Self. If there is too much physical stillness, tamo-guna [a state of mental torpor] arises and predominates. In that state you will feel very sleepy and mentally dull. Rajo-guna [a state of excessive mental activity], on the other hand, produces emotions in a mind which is restless. In sattwa guna [a state of mental quietness and clarity] there is stillness and harmony. If mental activity is necessary while one is in sattwa guna it takes place. But for the rest of the time there is stillness. When tamo-guna and rajo-guna predominate, the Self cannot be felt. If sattwa guna predominates one experiences peace, bliss, clarity and an absence of wandering thoughts. That is the stillness that Bhagavan was prescribing. 

Taken From the 'Conversations' [with Annamalai Swami]